I've watched 4 Michael Parenti talks now and 2 things are clear: 1. He is brilliant and we need his insights now more than ever. 2. Microphones are a CIA conspiracy.
If only I had known about Parenti's books and lectures, I would have saved myself years of dead-ends in my attempts at understanding the system. Thank you Dr. Parenti
I JUST LEARNED OF MICHAEL PARENTI LAST NIGHT. I LISTENED THROUGH OUT THE NIGHT, AND STILL TODAY. PARENTI PUT EMPIRE INTO SHARP PERSPECTIVE FOR ME. FORCES OF WEALTH, PRIVILEGE, AND MILITARISM HAVE BEEN WHAT I SPEAK UP ABOUT, YET, MY THINKING WAS NEVER SO CLEAR AS NOW, AFTER MICHAEL PARENTI.
Whoever is setting up his microphone and monitor equipment in almost every case could be accused of sabotage. It's not that hard. WTF is with all those wires. How hard is it to give the dude some boosted low end on his channel so he's not straining? Jesus!
@TheBendablespoons US Ludo Martens book 9n Stalin out in English? It's a really great work and a must read for every communist and every anti-communist.
These are the conversations I listened to between my father and his brothers whilst in exile in Zambia, we had fled from Apartheid. I often share these videos with friends, but I get no feedback. I can't find this rich conversation anywhere. Listening to Michael brings back great memories. It shaped who I am. When you grow up understanding the truth, it makes life so difficult to bear. I cannot ignore injustice anywhere, even the supermarket. People must think I'm crazy, yet I don't care. even if one person hears the truth, it makes a difference
I feel you man. Maybe not quite as viscerally as the experience of being in exile fleeing apartheid but if I stand back from my subjective experience, it would seem pretty clear that I pretty much derailed any "rational" material comfort to attempt to take an individual stand against this grotesque systemic injustice clearly inherent to its mechanisms. "Cannot unsee" as the internet might say. Obviously not to any success and not to self-aggrandise my own virtues or some other self indulgent bs either, but merely to say solidarity.
I feel your words in my soul. I do not know your name, i do not know your age, i do not know your past, but i know that when i go to the market and see an old man, barely lifting his own weight, having to pile up kilograms and kilograms of useless trash that gets sold only to enrich the owner while he struggles to feed his grandchildren because even their parents don't make enough for that, you and i stand on the same side, and you and i will fight on the same side, and if you and i die on the same side, we will die as close people who understood we always had to fight together to find solace from this dark, lonely world.
@Tyler Hopkins Thanks, Tyler. But too pushy? I don't believe that's possible. I think Michael is ~88 and I just emailed JD to get him on his show. Just watched your link and encourage everyone to watch 10 minutes. It would be a strange bird who doesn't finish.
The GREATEST political critical thinker of our times. There is a reason why he has gotten literally NO mainstream coverage. Roseanne had him on her radio show years ago. Chomsky gets all the neo liberal press and "alt" praise for a reason.
Chomsky is gate keeper and shills for the Dems every 4 years. Telling people this is the most important election in history and we must out our beliefs and values aside and hold our nose and vote blue no matter who. Every 4 years the right wing candidate is the new Hitler who will bring nuclear war and therefore deciding to vote third party or note vote at all is pure selfishness becuase the republicans must be stopped at all costs . In the most recent election he said the Republicans are the mos dangerous organization in human history as if the dems are any less dangerous and as if either party actually controls anything and are not working for the same people . He said things like wanting health care are just candy He actually compared people dying form lack of health care wanting Medicare for to people asking for candy . Essentially calling adults who want health care children asking for candy he was more or less telling leftists to grow up and accept the establishment and whatever crumbs they hand out . Chomsky is technocrat who has taken up championing world government.
'Then the story came out that there were male prostitutes paying visits to congressmen on Capitol Hill... When I heard that story I was shocked, I was disgusted and repelled. I mean, it really lowered my opinion of male prostitutes'. - LOL
Holy shit...I have watched/listened to ALL of Michael Parenti's recorded lectures and read ALL of his books, but this is the ONLY time I *ever* heard him drop an F-bomb (twice). And he was so cute about the way he did it. :) I just about fell out of my chair.
@@JacquelineHoman Thanks a lot for your quick reply. I just discovered him some weeks ago and I got very enthusiastic about his thinking; it seems to me he's an intellectual who's giving me a lot of the answers I needed. Since you've read all of his works, what's the best in your opinion? I wanna get a couple of his books...Thanks again, all the bests!
Holy shit, it's 2020 and Bong Joon-ho's Parasite has won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and Best Picture/Director/Screenplay at the (unworthy) Oscars and Parenti at 13:48 is prescient as hell: "you can show people a whole film about class power and they'll say...'oh, I didn't see that'" -- describes the reaction of most americans who even bothered to see the foreign/non-white film! Calling it a film about "class differences" or "gray morality" instead of recognizing the blatant commentary about capitalism.
@@ThrashTillDeath123 black shirts and reds, inventing reality, to kill a nation, the death of julius ceasar, democracy for the few... There are more but those are really good
Michael Parenti is the best !!! Fortunately, I have read all his books and listened to all his lectures, and I appreciate his wisdom and knowledge that he has given to our world.
Indeed, and just as a surely unsurprising follow-up to this, in case not already aware: wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/#OPCW-DOUMA%20-%20Release%20Part%204 Aaron Mate has done great reporting on this likely false flag cover up for The Grayzone (great anti-imperialist independent media outlet).
I've watched several of his other videos and debates from over a decade ago, and he mentions how the US would have started with China by now if the Iraq show hadn't taken precedence. Now that the US has pillaged raped and subjugated Iraq and Afghanistan and is saying it's going to pull out, I've heard constant anti-chinese rhetoric and propaganda. The US is 100% going to start shit with China. I just hope I'm dead before WW3 starts, and I know that when it starts only the crumbling US empire will be to blame.
@@pietroaretino6390 ww3 if it ever happens won't be fought in a traditional way. It'll be proxy wars, economic battles, information warfare. In a way it's happening now. The only thing that prevents full war is that china has nukes and a big enough army to actually fight the USA and win. Tbh I don't believe american society as we know it will last long enough to start a true Ww3.
So sad that many when you show them this man, will just brush him off without even watching him because the propaganda is so strong. Just mind blowing.
Michael Parenti, you're invited to dinner, I've got great South African wine, a fire pit and a starry sky. South African's need to listen to you. I'll plan the tour
If I can ask this without stepping on a pressure plate, who owns it? You or Me? What if I'm not qualified to own the means of production? What if you aren't? What if I get greedy? What if you do? If our production fails to produce, and someone needs to regulate. Maybe we regulate? What if we regulate poorly? Who regulates our regulation? If someone regulates us, then someone must regulate them. If there are regulators, then that is a stratification of power. If there is a stratification of power, then there is a tendency for abuse and likewise accumulation of wealth. Capitalism doesn't cut it, but netiher does Socialism or Communism. We're combating a failed and outdated socioeconomic system by implementing another failed and outdated socioeconomic system? It doesn't make sense. It seems like cognitive dissonance. Marx never proscribed a solution; he described one. Every attempt on a massive scale of this solution has failed, devolving into despotism and death. Socialism is implied stratification and cannot sustain without maintaining specific social class divisions. Isn't there something greater? We can't stand in "solidarity" for something greater than these three ancient failures? I can't accept that. I think we're brighter to be sold out for less.
@@briant9792 "Who owns it" The state owns it and represents our "interests", like restricting you from entering my house when I'm living in it without my permission etc. "Communism is a failed and outdated system" No, it is not. It was very successful. It turned Russia from a backwater country to a world superpower and dramatically increased the standard of living, surpassing that of capitalist countries of equal economic development (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1646771/pdf/amjph00269-0055.pdf). It was dismantled by some capitalist presidents. Russia strafed towards capitalism from the moment Khrushchev came into power. So the question is, how do we prevent people like Khrushchev from coming to power. If Stalin did something wrong, it was that he didn't crack down on these people hard enough. And yes, what you know about Stalin is wrong. He wasn't a dictator or killed millions. That's anti-communist propaganda.
it's amazing that Michael's talking points are the same points that many leftists are still talking about today. we really have not moved as far forward as Americans like to believe.
@@dead_yhency In fact, America is digging its own grave more and more. Capitalism is self-destructive. The problem is that the world won't last much longer like this.
@svevsky I would say leftist is the accurate term. Liberalism is a right wing ideology and many leftists of many walks of socialism refer to themselves as leftists to differentiate themselves from liberalism
This is a beautiful man. His intellect is unmatched in leftist intellectual circles. He is my favourite leftist intellectual by a mile. David Harvey to me is second.
I just started going to an Econ 101 class in college a few weeks ago. In explaining the factors of production, my professor mentioned 3rd world countries were so because they lack capital, resources, and labor. He treated it as something so natural without thinking for one second about the effects of colonialism or modern exploitation. My brain immediately went to Parenti saying third world countries “aren’t under developed, they’re over exploited.” He’s truly one of the great minds too few know about.
31:14 That is what it was like up until maybe the mid 1970s . Jobs were looking for workers . It was true what they said , you could get a job in the morning , not like it, boss was an asshole, etc and you could find another job that afternoon which was more conducive to employee satisfaction and well being .
29:30 I totally agree small businesses are of great value . But in franchised, big box store and corporatized america for the past 30 years they have been increasingly going out of business . Locally or regionally owned business is extinct almost . The vast majority of downtowns or main streets are dead as a doornail . I was a kid in the 1960s and it was a hell of lot more interesting fun, more variety downtown(public, private retail , etc) and heterogenous on the sidewalks too . And we had many more self sufficient neighborhoods : groceries , doctor, restaurant, church, school, tavern , ice cream parlor , tavern , hardware , dry goods , variety store, etc all within walking distance .
It's so goddamn frustrating and depressing to see the views on videos like this. I'd seen damn near every video of every lecture, speech, talk, book reading, debate, conversation or any other public speaking that people like Parenti, Chomsky, Wolff, Graeber, Hedges, etc have done over the years but lately I've not had the reading time I'd like so I decided to revisit em all and the view count is HORRIBLY low. The people who see it seem to like it and they don't all seem to be "radicals" or whatever so the reception isn't the issue. It's just not getting to anyone. The information is there but people ignore it or never see it to begin with. This is how "free speech" works in totalitarian cultures like the US. You can say whatever ya like but you'll be marginalized (Chomsky is THE leading intellectual in the US, one of the best in the world, yet he hasn't been on mainstream media in decades), ridiculed and drown out by the mainstream narrative that's always right on message with the political and corporate power structures that run everything. It's stunning how well the political and corporate elites have been able to create such a delusion that the vast majority of the people never even question. We've been brainwashed with myths and misinformation and collectively swallowed it whole. What was a strong resistance to capitalism and state over reach has been beaten down to next to nothing. At first with public and private violence through the police, militias, the national guard and groups like The Pinkertons and since the early 20th century with an impressive campaign of propaganda. With the spread of easy access to the internet it appears that more people than usual are at least questioning. If we can keep them away from reactionary bigots and opportunistic people and groups on the "left" we may stand a chance if it's not already too late.
I just recently discovered Parenti, thanks only to someone mentioning him in a comment on some other video that I happened to see. At first I thought that it was surprising that I hadn't heard of him since I've been aware of this line of thinking and have listened to many others such as Chomsky, P. Joseph, _edit: McKenna_ , etc. for many years. Then I realized just how hidden down the rabbit hole he would have to be, owing directly to the proportion of establishment-paradigm-shattering truths he tells in such a direct manner. Lots of people out there truly just do not want to hear most of what he has to say, unfortunately.
@@TheGoodChap I found chomsky way early in my political development I always felt that chomsky left something out which was an alternative to strive for and he wasn't as direct. Thank god for parenti. You really get a clear view of what he does
10:00 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is mentioned, unfortunately it seems - and this is the norm in this world - it has not been read before concluding what it means, observe article 29 section 3: _These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations._ What these 110 or so Nations did, was declare that their citizens had no longer any rights, but where to be subjected to brutal extrajudicial mass murder, starvation, torture, deprivation, and anything else that is the negation of the listed "rights" in that document, if they dared rebel the American Empire Vassal control grid and world Super State, called the United Nations. The UDHR is a list of rights that you _do not have,_ because article 29 section 3 turns it all on it's head. You have this right ... You have that right ... You have such right ... You have so right ... ... and - by the way - all these rights mentioned, you have them against _others_ but you don't have against _us,_ us being the United Nations, being the USA and the western world Oligarchy. How insane the United Nations really is, is slowly becoming apparent to people now that Saudi Arabia - a brutal tyranny, one of the worst in the world - is chair of an important human rights council.
Jos Boersema What are you blathering about? The UN is largely powerless, the US and parts of the west are orchestrating most of the violence in the world today, other nations within the UN often voice their vociferous anger at the US, UK, France etc it just doesn't matter because the UN has no teeth, no way of reeling back these super powers who openly defy the UDHR. It's not the document that is bad, and the UN isn't some super power world domination grid, it's just a good idea poorly executed in a world full of flawed evolutionarily primitive human beings some of which have formed out of control military super powers beholden to corrupt centers of private power.
Speakers complaining about mics always gives me anxiety because I used to work events for a University lol. Sorry, we know our mics suck and they're not going to pay to replace them for 20 years.
Dr.Parenti is my favorite . I have seen many of his talks and read his written works. I haven't watched this video yet. what makes me "back off" a bit is the title. I've never heard the term but i call myself a social materialist, simply put meaning striving for an equal distribution of wealth . And by wealth I also mean our necessities food, clean water, heat, energy, free health care, and the like . I think pushing ideology or culture on people turns them away from socialism in which our main #1 goal is an equal distribution of wealth
@@antediluvianatheist5262 you know the streets you drive on are socialist . And the private sector would suffer without public streets and highways . so you would rather pay a toll each time you drove your car ? You stupid Twat
@@schpwi I meant equal distribution of wealth or worth as an ideal. Even in a socialist system you have different wage and salary levels . Most important is who receives what for his physical, technical and mental work . A ceo does nothing but live off the surplus labor value of the employees and freelancers . In a sane socio-economic system a good janitor is more important to society than a do nothing ceo or a kniving bankster
@@geekylove3603 lol "chumpsky" its for sheep and folls, its like sayin. 'I love bernie" (guess what dark forces escalated him to congress?", out of 100s or 1000s of better options, no one in gov. Doest it "for the ppl"
To the tech guys who spend hours setting up all the sound and recording then have the speaker grab it and start moving it about so it stops working. I admire MP's work but having watched hours of him at the speaking every time he grabbing at the mic. The vast majority of the time when there isn't a problem. People need to hear what he has to say but it really is driving me up the wall.
I've noticed the same thing: in video after video, Parenti is constantly pulling the mic in one direction and then pushing it back to where it was, and then complaining about the sound.
What Christian Parenti is going around now and telling people on interviews in early 2023 considering "diversity" being a ruling class ideology, his father Michael summed up masterfully in this talk in 2006. Wow! I'm just amazed how the endless discussion today of identity politics and what have you was SETTLED in the first 15 minutes here.
Why can't they get the audio working properly on some of these lectures? It seems to me that correctly set up audio is merely an afterthought when it should be treated as the main component in an important lecture such as this one. I'm not criticising Parenti himself it happens at many other lectures presented by other producers for other speakers. It's not a professional attitude in general.
My best friend and I conspired to load our horses into the trailer and take them camping. It took two days to work out the details and over a week to get her mare and my stallion to behave well in the trailer together. This is an example of a real world conspiracy theory which also happen in politics, often on an international level.
MY beef with working with corporations...has to do with pee breaks..e.g. you are a cashier and you might process 7,000 dollars in an 8 hour shift....and by law u get 2 15 minute breaks... let us say you have to pee really badly after 1.5 hours...a responsible boss would say yes and hurry back. well the dickheads at ACE Hardware were not so understanding. THAT is my Pet Peeve!
Love this guy. But why is he soft on small businesses? I understand the "squirrels dancing on elephants" analogy... but don't small business owners exploit the labor of their workers, too? Unless the mom and pop shop doesn't employ anyone besides mom & pop. In that case, there is no exploitation and the business isn't really capitalist.
Laurence Thompson True but I think it has more to do with the idea that he might lose a bunch of people if he described small business as exploitative even in these relatively left wing audiences.
+Hattori Hanzo Small business in towns are dying. Large chain stores open up on the outskirts of the town. Town businesses cannot compete with the chains. So how can a small business pay better than minimum wage. • Here is a crazy stat from Calgary, Alberta. A Dollar+ Store (private owned with more than the usual junk now found at $Stores) pays $16 000 monthly rent-close to $200 000 a year, a million $ in five. He says that his rent is going up 20% in four months; thats almost $20 000 a month; nearly a quarter million a year, a million in four years. He’s a small business man. His hours are long, and he has to move a heck of a lot merchandise just to pay his rent. Namaste and care, mhikl
***** Don't get me wrong, my friend. I understand the _plight_ of the small business. However, that does not mean that the small business is not still an exploitative institution. Even when small businesses did well, the owners profited off of the labor of the worker. Like I said, mom 'n pop shops that only have mom 'n pop work there are not exploitative.
+Hattori Hanzo Hattori, do you follow and study the following? Michael Parenti, Chris Hedges, Richard Wolff, Sheldon Wolin, Noam Chomsky (Mr Naysayer without answers-but still has heart and soul). There are even ‘accepted’ economists who say this feast of greed cannot, will not continue much longer. • Capitalism (with its ups and downs and manipulation) and our governments by Plutocracy are coming down. That is what is exploitive and what is raging out of control. • Interestingly, if you follow Wolff &Wolin , you will find that his unbiased studies of Capitalism’s history is being understood by many, who, short time ago, would have rallied against Socialism (the economics) and true, unfettered Democracy. He’s a requested speaker in the deep south, interestingly enough. • The ultra manipulative rich are in the death throws of insane feasting on the labours of all lesser classes. The wealthy are under attack. The middle class is being destroyed. The ultra’s are feasting on those who once supported their gainful exploits. The feasting cannot continue and our economies, all economies are on the verge of collapse. • This isn’t exaggeration. Predictions for the final, inevitable destruction of world economies are for this or early next year. By the latest, the next Ms or Mr President will enjoy despair and upheaval like we have not witnessed, ever. • Be prepared. Study what you do not understand, what you may despise. Only by knowing your perceived enemy, what irritates your belief system, can you come to understand all possibilities. • To rag on the lesser who must use the rules of an inflexible system is blind foolery. We all do what we must to survive. (I am not a business man, I am a teacher and student in search of a better, more caring world.) If one does not learn to question one’s deepest held beliefs then the soul is prison bound. Stride to become unbound, my friend-and I mean friend in the most honourable way, for as in my belief and from my studies, we have been to each other, mother, father, brother, sister, lover and enemy; and we shall meet again to challenge and grow towards our greatest possible spirit. Namaste and care, mhikl
Countries with parliaments (representative democracy) are in fact oligarchies (few lead). In order to be a true democracy, the decisions of the Parliament should be submitted to the approval of the citizens. The "fatigue" of democracy occurs when there is a big difference between the interests of those elected and the voters, so people lose confidence in the way society function. As a result, the poor and desperate citizens will vote with whoever promises them a lifeline, i.e. the populists or demagogues. The democratic aspect is a side effect in societies where economies have a strong competitive aspect, where the interests of those who hold economic power in society are divergent. Thus, those with money, and implicitly with political power in society, are supervising each other so that none of them have undeserved advantages due to politics. Because of this, countries with large mineral resources, like Russia and Venezuela (their share in GDP is large), do not have democratic aspects, because a small group of people can exploit these resources in their own interest. In poor countries, the main resource exploited may even be the state budget, as they have converging interests in benefiting, in their own interest, from this resource. This is what is observed in Romania, Bulgaria, when, no matter which party comes to power, the result is the same. The solution is modern direct democracy in which every citizen can vote, whenever he wants, over the head of the parliamentarian who represents him. He can even dismiss him if most of his voters consider that their interests are not right represented. Those who think that democracy is when you choose someone to make decisions for you without him having to consult you, are either a fool or a scoundrel. It's like when you have to choose from several thieves who will steal from you. It's like when you have to build a house and you choose the site manager and the architect, but they don't have the duty to consult with you. The house will certainly not look the way you want it, but the way they want it, and even more surely you will be left without money and without the house. It is strange that outside of the political sphere, you will not find, in any economic or sports activity, someone elected to a leadership position and who has failure after failure and who is fired only after 4 years. We, the voters, must be consulted about the decisions and if they have negative effects we can dismiss them at any time, without to wait until the term to be fulfilled, because we pay, not them. In any company, the management team comes up with a plan approved by the shareholders. Any change in this plan must be re-approved by the shareholders and it is normal because the shareholders pay.
support comrade Parenti in his continuous war against the sound euqipment
Sabotage by Agents of the Corporate State
Solidarity against the tyranny of the podium mic!
Euclidean space and acoustics WILL NEVER SILENCE HIM! not as long as we're listening (through the mic issues)
Protracted People's War
✊
I've watched 4 Michael Parenti talks now and 2 things are clear:
1. He is brilliant and we need his insights now more than ever.
2. Microphones are a CIA conspiracy.
Lol
haha i was just thinking one of this mans greatest struggles is to find a proper microphone to speak into
lol yeah Michael Parenti and the mics that never seem to work properly
And regular education sucks
@@chrissmith-gb5et his microphones will get better with the development of productive forces under socialism😌
If only I had known about Parenti's books and lectures, I would have saved myself years of dead-ends in my attempts at understanding the system. Thank you Dr. Parenti
Parenti is the greatest of all time. The Ali of leftism
I JUST LEARNED OF MICHAEL PARENTI LAST NIGHT. I LISTENED THROUGH OUT THE NIGHT, AND STILL TODAY. PARENTI PUT EMPIRE INTO SHARP PERSPECTIVE FOR ME. FORCES OF WEALTH, PRIVILEGE, AND MILITARISM HAVE BEEN WHAT I SPEAK UP ABOUT, YET, MY THINKING WAS NEVER SO CLEAR AS NOW, AFTER MICHAEL PARENTI.
100009%
It wouldn't be a Parenti lecture without him fighting with/complaining about the audio equipment.
Whoever is setting up his microphone and monitor equipment in almost every case could be accused of sabotage. It's not that hard. WTF is with all those wires. How hard is it to give the dude some boosted low end on his channel so he's not straining? Jesus!
I adore the way he says crappy
It happens every time wtf
🤣
Lol I was literally just thinking this 😅
please try to introduce this man to others. People are are looking for someone like him.
other author I recommend is Morris Berman
@TheBendablespoons US Ludo Martens book 9n Stalin out in English?
It's a really great work and a must read for every communist and every anti-communist.
I first heard about him on TikTok
Let's show this to Jordan Peterson's fans
@@keylupveintisiete7552 guy couldn’t even face up to Wolff
These are the conversations I listened to between my father and his brothers whilst in exile in Zambia, we had fled from Apartheid. I often share these videos with friends, but I get no feedback. I can't find this rich conversation anywhere. Listening to Michael brings back great memories. It shaped who I am. When you grow up understanding the truth, it makes life so difficult to bear. I cannot ignore injustice anywhere, even the supermarket. People must think I'm crazy, yet I don't care. even if one person hears the truth, it makes a difference
I feel you man. Maybe not quite as viscerally as the experience of being in exile fleeing apartheid but if I stand back from my subjective experience, it would seem pretty clear that I pretty much derailed any "rational" material comfort to attempt to take an individual stand against this grotesque systemic injustice clearly inherent to its mechanisms. "Cannot unsee" as the internet might say. Obviously not to any success and not to self-aggrandise my own virtues or some other self indulgent bs either, but merely to say solidarity.
At the risk of sounding trite, "If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine." - Che Guevara
Solidarity.
It takes a certain amount of depth to understand what he says. But it takes courage to actually listen to him in the first place!
I feel your words in my soul. I do not know your name, i do not know your age, i do not know your past, but i know that when i go to the market and see an old man, barely lifting his own weight, having to pile up kilograms and kilograms of useless trash that gets sold only to enrich the owner while he struggles to feed his grandchildren because even their parents don't make enough for that, you and i stand on the same side, and you and i will fight on the same side, and if you and i die on the same side, we will die as close people who understood we always had to fight together to find solace from this dark, lonely world.
This man doesn’t get enough love
Just some Guy :: Or not enough microphones that work to his liking.
HE's the greatest...
Slow learner here, catching this Feb. 2021. But the message is more relevant than it was in 2006. Thank you, Michael.
@Tyler Hopkins Thanks, Tyler. But too pushy? I don't believe that's possible. I think Michael is ~88 and I just emailed JD to get him on his show. Just watched your link and encourage everyone to watch 10 minutes. It would be a strange bird who doesn't finish.
Future here... in 2023 it's even more relevant.
Every single point in this talk is 100% relevant today!!
Nov. 24: still is.
The GREATEST political critical thinker of our times. There is a reason why he has gotten literally NO mainstream coverage. Roseanne had him on her radio show years ago. Chomsky gets all the neo liberal press and "alt" praise for a reason.
Chomsky is gate keeper and shills for the Dems every 4 years. Telling people this is the most important election in history and we must out our beliefs and values aside and hold our nose and vote blue no matter who. Every 4 years the right wing candidate is the new Hitler who will bring nuclear war and therefore deciding to vote third party or note vote at all is pure selfishness becuase the republicans must be stopped at all costs . In the most recent election he said the Republicans are the mos dangerous organization in human history as if the dems are any less dangerous and as if either party actually controls anything and are not working for the same people . He said things like wanting health care are just candy He actually compared people dying form lack of health care wanting Medicare for to people asking for candy . Essentially calling adults who want health care children asking for candy he was more or less telling leftists to grow up and accept the establishment and whatever crumbs they hand out . Chomsky is technocrat who has taken up championing world government.
@young machines what does it tell us
'Then the story came out that there were male prostitutes paying visits to congressmen on Capitol Hill... When I heard that story I was shocked, I was disgusted and repelled. I mean, it really lowered my opinion of male prostitutes'.
- LOL
😂
Holy shit...I have watched/listened to ALL of Michael Parenti's recorded lectures and read ALL of his books, but this is the ONLY time I *ever* heard him drop an F-bomb (twice). And he was so cute about the way he did it. :) I just about fell out of my chair.
@Evan Goch Eff-ing brilliant!
52:50 for the curious
I'd like to start reading his books. Where should I start from?
@@andreraphael6727 Democracy for the Few is a good one to start with.
@@JacquelineHoman Thanks a lot for your quick reply. I just discovered him some weeks ago and I got very enthusiastic about his thinking; it seems to me he's an intellectual who's giving me a lot of the answers I needed. Since you've read all of his works, what's the best in your opinion? I wanna get a couple of his books...Thanks again, all the bests!
Parenti starts talking @6:00
King of the f- ed up mics!
I suspect his moustache is magnetised.
No shit, the FBI and CIA are amazing how over many years they have fucked up his mics!
@@AntonioGarmsci-cy5vt another commenter is calling for someone to do a video mix of all his struggles with mics and PA systems
@@johntao6822 I might just do this
I love Mike fighting the mikes. He's so great.
Parenti is a great man and also has a great sense of humor
He certainly has the comic timing of a first-class comedian! (sometimes he really cracks me up).
He is really funny
Well, here we are 2020. And Parenti is telling us what is happening from the perspective of several years ago. Reality is indeed radical.
Amazing how prescient this is in 2018.
Yeah, he's been prescient for decades
Because we are still dealing with capitalism.
Holy shit, it's 2020 and Bong Joon-ho's Parasite has won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and Best Picture/Director/Screenplay at the (unworthy) Oscars and Parenti at 13:48 is prescient as hell: "you can show people a whole film about class power and they'll say...'oh, I didn't see that'" -- describes the reaction of most americans who even bothered to see the foreign/non-white film! Calling it a film about "class differences" or "gray morality" instead of recognizing the blatant commentary about capitalism.
@@SmileRainbow12 well that's going on the ol' watch list!
@Chad Dysvick heh well noted. I usually HATE grenade launcher guns in games but in JC it fits great.
He is a people’s hero we need him so much in this dark years
His Books are Great!
@holioSuch as?
@@ThrashTillDeath123 black shirts and reds, inventing reality, to kill a nation, the death of julius ceasar, democracy for the few... There are more but those are really good
I'd like to start reading his books. Where should I start from? What do you suggest?
The great Dr. Michael Parenti!!!!
I love how he complains about the microphone in every talk! It is truly hilarious. He is brilliant and ornery.
Michael Parenti is the best !!! Fortunately, I have read all his books and listened to all his lectures, and I appreciate his wisdom and knowledge that he has given to our world.
I'd like to start reading his books. Where should I start from?
@@andreraphael6727 maybe start with the assassination of Julius Caesar, the ruling class has been
exploiting poors for a very long time
@@andreraphael6727 Blackshirts and Reds and Inventing Reality are pretty good starting points
One of the few intellectuals who truly understands how the world works. And he cares.
Class and class power:
"I still haven't been housebroken on this issue . . ."
"...they'd be in Syria by now." - he called it
"Project For A New American Century" (before 9/11) - it's on the list!
Indeed, and just as a surely unsurprising follow-up to this, in case not already aware:
wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/#OPCW-DOUMA%20-%20Release%20Part%204
Aaron Mate has done great reporting on this likely false flag cover up for The Grayzone (great anti-imperialist independent media outlet).
I've watched several of his other videos and debates from over a decade ago, and he mentions how the US would have started with China by now if the Iraq show hadn't taken precedence. Now that the US has pillaged raped and subjugated Iraq and Afghanistan and is saying it's going to pull out, I've heard constant anti-chinese rhetoric and propaganda. The US is 100% going to start shit with China. I just hope I'm dead before WW3 starts, and I know that when it starts only the crumbling US empire will be to blame.
@@pietroaretino6390 ww3 if it ever happens won't be fought in a traditional way. It'll be proxy wars, economic battles, information warfare. In a way it's happening now. The only thing that prevents full war is that china has nukes and a big enough army to actually fight the USA and win. Tbh I don't believe american society as we know it will last long enough to start a true Ww3.
So sad that many when you show them this man, will just brush him off without even watching him because the propaganda is so strong. Just mind blowing.
Awesome. Just ordered his book “black shirts and reds.”
Michael Parenti, you're invited to dinner, I've got great South African wine, a fire pit and a starry sky. South African's need to listen to you. I'll plan the tour
Any k*fairs invited or it's going to be unintendly bhunu only?
Mike and his never-ending mic struggles.
They can try all they want, the MIC will NEVER silence comrade-Dr Parenti, no matter how many adjustments he has to make!!!!
"Reality is radical" such a great thought.
No to capitalism, no to exploitation, big or small! Down with businesses, big or small! Societal ownership of the means of production now!
Solidarity
If I can ask this without stepping on a pressure plate, who owns it? You or Me? What if I'm not qualified to own the means of production? What if you aren't? What if I get greedy? What if you do? If our production fails to produce, and someone needs to regulate. Maybe we regulate? What if we regulate poorly? Who regulates our regulation? If someone regulates us, then someone must regulate them. If there are regulators, then that is a stratification of power. If there is a stratification of power, then there is a tendency for abuse and likewise accumulation of wealth. Capitalism doesn't cut it, but netiher does Socialism or Communism. We're combating a failed and outdated socioeconomic system by implementing another failed and outdated socioeconomic system? It doesn't make sense. It seems like cognitive dissonance. Marx never proscribed a solution; he described one. Every attempt on a massive scale of this solution has failed, devolving into despotism and death. Socialism is implied stratification and cannot sustain without maintaining specific social class divisions. Isn't there something greater? We can't stand in "solidarity" for something greater than these three ancient failures? I can't accept that. I think we're brighter to be sold out for less.
@@briant9792 "Who owns it" The state owns it and represents our "interests", like restricting you from entering my house when I'm living in it without my permission etc.
"Communism is a failed and outdated system" No, it is not. It was very successful. It turned Russia from a backwater country to a world superpower and dramatically increased the standard of living, surpassing that of capitalist countries of equal economic development (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1646771/pdf/amjph00269-0055.pdf). It was dismantled by some capitalist presidents. Russia strafed towards capitalism from the moment Khrushchev came into power. So the question is, how do we prevent people like Khrushchev from coming to power. If Stalin did something wrong, it was that he didn't crack down on these people hard enough. And yes, what you know about Stalin is wrong. He wasn't a dictator or killed millions. That's anti-communist propaganda.
Efthimios
Your comment is a breath of fresh air.
@@AB-ou8ve Is this ironic? Anyway, thank you :)
2020 fam here for sanity...
Parentis arch nemesis, the microphone
I firmly believe that microphones put in front of him are all CIA operatives
it's amazing that Michael's talking points are the same points that many leftists are still talking about today. we really have not moved as far forward as Americans like to believe.
We ain't moved a centimeter
@@dead_yhency In fact, America is digging its own grave more and more. Capitalism is self-destructive. The problem is that the world won't last much longer like this.
@@adamiadamiadami yup :/
fuck, the capitalist world is moving backwards
@svevsky I would say leftist is the accurate term. Liberalism is a right wing ideology and many leftists of many walks of socialism refer to themselves as leftists to differentiate themselves from liberalism
This is a beautiful man. His intellect is unmatched in leftist intellectual circles. He is my favourite leftist intellectual by a mile. David Harvey to me is second.
Brilliant man! Thank you!
good to watch for anthropology students
I just started going to an Econ 101 class in college a few weeks ago. In explaining the factors of production, my professor mentioned 3rd world countries were so because they lack capital, resources, and labor. He treated it as something so natural without thinking for one second about the effects of colonialism or modern exploitation. My brain immediately went to Parenti saying third world countries “aren’t under developed, they’re over exploited.” He’s truly one of the great minds too few know about.
One of the greatest talks ever.
This man! So astute and truthful!
I wish I knew him before. I love his perspective.
Parenti is like the tribe elder that knows all
14:00 class race. 26:30 class power. 30:30 class and racism
SO BRILLIANT
Parenti had to get that early mic check. Excellent talk by Michael as always.
1:08:13 "...they would've taken Syria by now..."
Michael Parenti,
September 30 *2006*
Parenti gives us very clear and insightful observations about the world we exist in. Brilliant mind on this man.
sitting here in 2020, just cackling in the darkness
Sitting here in 2021, the same.
@@oswarz Sitting here in 2023, ditto.
Parenti is great!!!
31:14 That is what it was like up until maybe the mid 1970s . Jobs were looking for workers . It was true what they said , you could get a job in the morning , not like it, boss was an asshole, etc and you could find another job that afternoon which was more conducive to employee satisfaction and well being .
Class is very real in Europe.
It is real everywhere
@@ladymuck2) you beat me to it…💯💯💯
I love the perfectly framed bald eagle in the corner, looking over his shoulder, watching....
29:30 I totally agree small businesses are of great value . But in franchised, big box store and corporatized america for the past 30 years they have been increasingly going out of business . Locally or regionally owned business is extinct almost . The vast majority of downtowns or main streets are dead as a doornail . I was a kid in the 1960s and it was a hell of lot more interesting fun, more variety downtown(public, private retail , etc) and heterogenous on the sidewalks too . And we had many more self sufficient neighborhoods : groceries , doctor, restaurant, church, school, tavern , ice cream parlor , tavern , hardware , dry goods , variety store, etc all within walking distance .
Parenti is a master of microphone jujitsu.
Parenti expertly dissects ubiquitous propaganda while trying to battle formidable microphones, again.
The Virgin microphone vs The Chad Parenti
It's so goddamn frustrating and depressing to see the views on videos like this. I'd seen damn near every video of every lecture, speech, talk, book reading, debate, conversation or any other public speaking that people like Parenti, Chomsky, Wolff, Graeber, Hedges, etc have done over the years but lately I've not had the reading time I'd like so I decided to revisit em all and the view count is HORRIBLY low. The people who see it seem to like it and they don't all seem to be "radicals" or whatever so the reception isn't the issue. It's just not getting to anyone.
The information is there but people ignore it or never see it to begin with. This is how "free speech" works in totalitarian cultures like the US. You can say whatever ya like but you'll be marginalized (Chomsky is THE leading intellectual in the US, one of the best in the world, yet he hasn't been on mainstream media in decades), ridiculed and drown out by the mainstream narrative that's always right on message with the political and corporate power structures that run everything. It's stunning how well the political and corporate elites have been able to create such a delusion that the vast majority of the people never even question. We've been brainwashed with myths and misinformation and collectively swallowed it whole. What was a strong resistance to capitalism and state over reach has been beaten down to next to nothing. At first with public and private violence through the police, militias, the national guard and groups like The Pinkertons and since the early 20th century with an impressive campaign of propaganda.
With the spread of easy access to the internet it appears that more people than usual are at least questioning. If we can keep them away from reactionary bigots and opportunistic people and groups on the "left" we may stand a chance if it's not already too late.
I just recently discovered Parenti, thanks only to someone mentioning him in a comment on some other video that I happened to see. At first I thought that it was surprising that I hadn't heard of him since I've been aware of this line of thinking and have listened to many others such as Chomsky, P. Joseph, _edit: McKenna_ , etc. for many years. Then I realized just how hidden down the rabbit hole he would have to be, owing directly to the proportion of establishment-paradigm-shattering truths he tells in such a direct manner. Lots of people out there truly just do not want to hear most of what he has to say, unfortunately.
@@ShoesMagoo 100%... I try to tell people about parenti whenever I can. Chomsky and so many others leave a thirst for more and parenti satiates that
@@TheGoodChap I found chomsky way early in my political development I always felt that chomsky left something out which was an alternative to strive for and he wasn't as direct. Thank god for parenti. You really get a clear view of what he does
I'd like to start reading his books. Where should I start from?
M. Parenti VS The Mike...
3...
2...
1.."FIGHT!!! 😂
Michael Parenti we love u
10:00 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is mentioned, unfortunately it seems - and this is the norm in this world - it has not been read before concluding what it means, observe article 29 section 3:
_These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations._
What these 110 or so Nations did, was declare that their citizens had no longer any rights, but where to be subjected to brutal extrajudicial mass murder, starvation, torture, deprivation, and anything else that is the negation of the listed "rights" in that document, if they dared rebel the American Empire Vassal control grid and world Super State, called the United Nations. The UDHR is a list of rights that you _do not have,_ because article 29 section 3 turns it all on it's head.
You have this right ...
You have that right ...
You have such right ...
You have so right ...
... and - by the way - all these rights mentioned, you have them against _others_ but you don't have against _us,_ us being the United Nations, being the USA and the western world Oligarchy. How insane the United Nations really is, is slowly becoming apparent to people now that Saudi Arabia - a brutal tyranny, one of the worst in the world - is chair of an important human rights council.
Jos Boersema What are you blathering about? The UN is largely powerless, the US and parts of the west are orchestrating most of the violence in the world today, other nations within the UN often voice their vociferous anger at the US, UK, France etc it just doesn't matter because the UN has no teeth, no way of reeling back these super powers who openly defy the UDHR. It's not the document that is bad, and the UN isn't some super power world domination grid, it's just a good idea poorly executed in a world full of flawed evolutionarily primitive human beings some of which have formed out of control military super powers beholden to corrupt centers of private power.
Share w the world 🌎
glad that mic is working!
20 years later Parenti still struggle with mic problems.
Speakers complaining about mics always gives me anxiety because I used to work events for a University lol. Sorry, we know our mics suck and they're not going to pay to replace them for 20 years.
Dr.Parenti is my favorite . I have seen many of his talks and read his written works. I haven't watched this video yet. what makes me "back off" a bit is the title. I've never heard the term but i call myself a social materialist, simply put meaning striving for an equal distribution of wealth . And by wealth I also mean our necessities food, clean water, heat, energy, free health care, and the like . I think pushing ideology or culture on people turns them away from socialism in which our main #1 goal is an equal distribution of wealth
That's socialism.
@@antediluvianatheist5262 you know the streets you drive on are socialist . And the private sector would suffer without public streets and highways . so you would rather pay a toll each time you drove your car ? You stupid Twat
I'd like to start reading his books. Where should I start from?
Equal distribution is conceptually hilarious.
@@schpwi I meant equal distribution of wealth or worth as an ideal. Even in a socialist system you have different wage and salary levels . Most important is who
receives what for his physical, technical and mental work . A ceo does nothing but live off the surplus labor value of the employees and freelancers . In a sane socio-economic system a good janitor is more important to society than a do nothing ceo or a kniving bankster
BAM!!
Take that Noam Chomsky and the rest of the 'Synthetic Left.'
But, but, but--harm reduction!
Im glad im not alone on that opinion, i keep telling people and they cant see it yet
I love Chomsky
@@geekylove3603 lol "chumpsky" its for sheep and folls, its like sayin. 'I love bernie" (guess what dark forces escalated him to congress?", out of 100s or 1000s of better options, no one in gov. Doest it "for the ppl"
@@geekylove3603 in other words "chumpsky" is one of the parrots for the swamp things
Parenti starts at 6:00
Please enable subtitles, it's easier to understand for non native speaker .
Great lecture. One thing though leave the mic alone!
LOL Im like STOP PLEASE
To the tech guys who spend hours setting up all the sound and recording then have the speaker grab it and start moving it about so it stops working. I admire MP's work but having watched hours of him at the speaking every time he grabbing at the mic. The vast majority of the time when there isn't a problem. People need to hear what he has to say but it really is driving me up the wall.
Well done you.
I've noticed the same thing: in video after video, Parenti is constantly pulling the mic in one direction and then pushing it back to where it was, and then complaining about the sound.
it wouldn't be a Parenti talk without the Microphone wrestling
Mic Hell Parenti 🤯🫨🕳️⛷️🧙
no class is crucial to ALL issues we will get nowhere until we get that--we once understood it
What Christian Parenti is going around now and telling people on interviews in early 2023 considering "diversity" being a ruling class ideology, his father Michael summed up masterfully in this talk in 2006. Wow! I'm just amazed how the endless discussion today of identity politics and what have you was SETTLED in the first 15 minutes here.
Never thought I'd hear Parenti say the n-word, hard R. God daym
ahhhhhh of course KPFK was involved in this, such a great radio station
6:05
'Michael Parenti - The Culture Struggle'
Michael Parenti - 'Thank you, I'm actually not going to talk about 'The Culture Struggle''
Check out "Howell Underground". Another one who doesn't get the attention he deserves.
@@oswarz Alright, thanks.
The Oligarchy built a coffin out of America and put a flag on top of it.
moments i want to remember:
14:51
18:00
22:45
Why can't they get the audio working properly on some of these lectures? It seems to me that correctly set up audio is merely an afterthought when it should be treated as the main component in an important lecture such as this one. I'm not criticising Parenti himself it happens at many other lectures presented by other producers for other speakers. It's not a professional attitude in general.
does somebody have his book on pdf?
How about buy the book.
Libgen
Waiting for him to talk about Dennis hastert
Parenti the gawd
That's a strange accent.
My best friend and I conspired to load our horses into the trailer and take them camping. It took two days to work out the details and over a week to get her mare and my stallion to behave well in the trailer together. This is an example of a real world conspiracy theory which also happen in politics, often on an international level.
MY beef with working with corporations...has to do with pee breaks..e.g. you are a cashier and you might process 7,000 dollars in an 8 hour shift....and by law u get 2 15 minute breaks... let us say you have to pee really badly after 1.5 hours...a responsible boss would say yes and hurry back. well the dickheads at ACE Hardware were not so understanding. THAT is my Pet Peeve!
this is something
the eagle is struggling to hear..............
Love this guy. But why is he soft on small businesses? I understand the "squirrels dancing on elephants" analogy... but don't small business owners exploit the labor of their workers, too? Unless the mom and pop shop doesn't employ anyone besides mom & pop. In that case, there is no exploitation and the business isn't really capitalist.
+Hattori Hanzo i think he is talking macro rather than micro economics
Laurence Thompson
True but I think it has more to do with the idea that he might lose a bunch of people if he described small business as exploitative even in these relatively left wing audiences.
+Hattori Hanzo
Small business in towns are dying. Large chain stores open up on the outskirts of the town. Town businesses cannot compete with the chains. So how can a small business pay better than minimum wage.
• Here is a crazy stat from Calgary, Alberta. A Dollar+ Store (private owned with more than the usual junk now found at $Stores) pays $16 000 monthly rent-close to $200 000 a year, a million $ in five. He says that his rent is going up 20% in four months; thats almost $20 000 a month; nearly a quarter million a year, a million in four years.
He’s a small business man. His hours are long, and he has to move a heck of a lot merchandise just to pay his rent.
Namaste and care,
mhikl
*****
Don't get me wrong, my friend. I understand the _plight_ of the small business. However, that does not mean that the small business is not still an exploitative institution. Even when small businesses did well, the owners profited off of the labor of the worker. Like I said, mom 'n pop shops that only have mom 'n pop work there are not exploitative.
+Hattori Hanzo
Hattori, do you follow and study the following? Michael Parenti, Chris Hedges, Richard Wolff, Sheldon Wolin, Noam Chomsky (Mr Naysayer without answers-but still has heart and soul). There are even ‘accepted’ economists who say this feast of greed cannot, will not continue much longer.
• Capitalism (with its ups and downs and manipulation) and our governments by Plutocracy are coming down. That is what is exploitive and what is raging out of control.
• Interestingly, if you follow Wolff &Wolin , you will find that his unbiased studies of Capitalism’s history is being understood by many, who, short time ago, would have rallied against Socialism (the economics) and true, unfettered Democracy. He’s a requested speaker in the deep south, interestingly enough.
• The ultra manipulative rich are in the death throws of insane feasting on the labours of all lesser classes. The wealthy are under attack. The middle class is being destroyed. The ultra’s are feasting on those who once supported their gainful exploits. The feasting cannot continue and our economies, all economies are on the verge of collapse.
• This isn’t exaggeration. Predictions for the final, inevitable destruction of world economies are for this or early next year. By the latest, the next Ms or Mr President will enjoy despair and upheaval like we have not witnessed, ever.
• Be prepared. Study what you do not understand, what you may despise. Only by knowing your perceived enemy, what irritates your belief system, can you come to understand all possibilities.
• To rag on the lesser who must use the rules of an inflexible system is blind foolery. We all do what we must to survive. (I am not a business man, I am a teacher and student in search of a better, more caring world.)
If one does not learn to question one’s deepest held beliefs then the soul is prison bound. Stride to become unbound, my friend-and I mean friend in the most honourable way, for as in my belief and from my studies, we have been to each other, mother, father, brother, sister, lover and enemy; and we shall meet again to challenge and grow towards our greatest possible spirit.
Namaste and care,
mhikl
It’s not a parenti lecture without a microphone issue
Is there a single video where Michael Parenti doesn't have microphone issues
In the middle it's pretty funny.
That eagle is sizing up Parenti the whole lecture.
That eagle behind him seems like an implicit threat.
30:30 I liked where he was going and then diverted:(
MICHAEL DO STANDUP, but RED PILLED
Red pilled as in right wing or red pilled as in Red Communism?
@@yourlocalpunkposer8107 red as in internationally not in America red
Countries with parliaments (representative democracy) are in fact oligarchies (few lead). In order to be a true democracy, the decisions of the Parliament should be submitted to the approval of the citizens. The "fatigue" of democracy occurs when there is a big difference between the interests of those elected and the voters, so people lose confidence in the way society function. As a result, the poor and desperate citizens will vote with whoever promises them a lifeline, i.e. the populists or demagogues. The democratic aspect is a side effect in societies where economies have a strong competitive aspect, where the interests of those who hold economic power in society are divergent. Thus, those with money, and implicitly with political power in society, are supervising each other so that none of them have undeserved advantages due to politics. Because of this, countries with large mineral resources, like Russia and Venezuela (their share in GDP is large), do not have democratic aspects, because a small group of people can exploit these resources in their own interest. In poor countries, the main resource exploited may even be the state budget, as they have converging interests in benefiting, in their own interest, from this resource. This is what is observed in Romania, Bulgaria, when, no matter which party comes to power, the result is the same. The solution is modern direct democracy in which every citizen can vote, whenever he wants, over the head of the parliamentarian who represents him. He can even dismiss him if most of his voters consider that their interests are not right represented.
Those who think that democracy is when you choose someone to make decisions for you without him having to consult you, are either a fool or a scoundrel. It's like when you have to choose from several thieves who will steal from you. It's like when you have to build a house and you choose the site manager and the architect, but they don't have the duty to consult with you. The house will certainly not look the way you want it, but the way they want it, and even more surely you will be left without money and without the house. It is strange that outside of the political sphere, you will not find, in any economic or sports activity, someone elected to a leadership position and who has failure after failure and who is fired only after 4 years. We, the voters, must be consulted about the decisions and if they have negative effects we can dismiss them at any time, without to wait until the term to be fulfilled, because we pay, not them. In any company, the management team comes up with a plan approved by the shareholders. Any change in this plan must be re-approved by the shareholders and it is normal because the shareholders pay.
1:19:05 old man jumpscare
47:00
Captions?
I'd love to hear Michael talk about Donald Trump
wait, did he pronounce the 'r'??!??
yes. it was a demonstration
All those people didnt know how privileged they were to catch a lecture of his.